So much for "cold, dead hands:"
U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, a gun rights supporter under indictment on charges of laundering campaign money, is fighting to regain his Texas concealed handgun license, which was suspended because he is accused of a felony.
Under a Texas law passed in 1995, a license may be suspended if the holder is charged with a Class A or Class B misdemeanor or indicted on felony charges.
The Sugar Land Republican's license was suspended by Fort Bend County Precinct 4 Justice of the Peace Jim Richard in January.
[...]
The author of the original bill, Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, who was a state senator, said the section of law calling for suspension of licenses of people under indictment should probably be removed from the statute."It is clearly not rational, not called for, but it was one of those things we did to make somebody say, 'OK, I'll vote for it,' " Patterson said Monday.
And something like that came back to bite you on the ass? Excuse me while I give myself a stroke from laughing.
Patterson said several provisions were put in the bill by backers in order to garner support from other lawmakers who were leery about the law.
Patterson said since the bill's passage more than a decade ago, legislators have amended the statute and removed some of the parts he called "onerous."
"There is a presumption of innocence. Would we take away his First Amendment right to free speech?" Patterson said.
Yeah, well...to paraphrase Frost from Aliens, I don't see a lot of people using "harsh language" to commit crimes (but then, I'm not the FCC). While I see Patterson's belated point, his opinion would carry a lot more weight if it hadn't been sacrificed to political expediency beforehand, and if he wasn't only expressing remorse because of an inconvenience to Delay now.
"All animals are equal, but some animals [i.e., the pigs] are more equal than others."
Delay is a pig.
Nice picture on the main site, Pete. I didn't realize Olson Twins were in 'Jason and Argonauts.'
Seems to me that if Texas can arrest people in bars who have not even taken a step toward their cars, much less attempted to drive drunk, then the "presumption of innocence" isn't really there in Texas to begin with.
I say let DeLay suffer like every other indicted and soon-to-be convicted felon.